In case you hadn’t noticed, self-promotion has become an art.  There is a whole new generation that has been raised with a new song for kindergarten sung to the tune of freres Jacques; I am special, I am special, look at me, look at me. It goes along with what every little kid says at the playground as they try some new stunt, “Hey, lookit me, lookit me!” Strange isn’t it; that on one side is a group that just wants to be normal – and on the other, people for whom being average is a curse.  And with all this is little ‘g’ god of ME. I am the final decider of what is true and what is right and what is moral. Life has a way of judging the little ‘g’ god of ME! Pretending to be a god is to fall into what everyone is tempted with, yet hates in others: PRIDE!

*Go to LAUNCH SERMON PLAYER for PDF and YouTube Podcast

I think it’s safe to say that everyone longs to be loved – and a lot of people settle for LUV. Luv is a powerful craving to be wanted, desired, cherished – and causes us to do things and make decisions we later regret. Love – the real deal – is what we give; it’s unconditional – beautiful, sacrificial – and the recipient of it is usually changed forever. LUV – drives people crazy – and causes them to do crazy, reckless things. Love is not crazy; it’s perfectly rational and well-thought-out, but it also causes people to do things that others might see as reckless – even irrational. Luv is the little ‘g’ god that people sell their souls to – looking for real, authentic love… and in the process, they miss it!

*Go to LAUNCH SERMON PLAYER for PDF and YouTube Podcast

One of the biggest signs that things had really changed in Markham in March of 2020 – was the empty parking lot at the GO Station. Someone quoted the lines of an old Gospel song, “The marketplace is empty, no more traffic in the streets…”  COVID-19 had a huge effect on one of the most worshipped gods in the GTA – work and success! People climb ladders, step on others, shove their kids up the ladders – and make serious sacrifices to the little ‘g’ god of work – and the god that drives it; success. When it comes to the voices in our past, we have to ask the question, “Were they telling the truth?” And the same is true of this god of success, IS IT TELLING THE TRUTH?

*Go to LAUNCH SERMON PLAYER for PDF and YouTube Podcast

So, why not start with the #1 little ‘g’ god at the top of the org chart in North America – and most of the world? After all, isn’t prosperity the obvious sign that God is pleased with you? Well, not so fast… because Jesus, God with skin on – God who humbled Himself to become man and save us from worshipping and giving our lives to false gods – said, “You gotta decide between Mammon – the god of prosperity – and the God of all the earth!” Maybe it would be helpful to see where all the arrows are pointing!

*Go to LAUNCH SERMON PLAYER for PDF and YouTube Podcast

We aren’t the first people to find ourselves in a world of upheaval – where, in less than a year, everything we know and have become accustomed to gets flipped on its back. The same thing happened 3500 years ago when God showed up and surprised a group of slaves and slavedrivers – judged everything that seemed normal – and offered freedom to both the slaves and the slavedrivers. He did it by making life uncomfortable… and the future uncertain for both. And when He did, the little ‘g’ gods were never the same. The tragedy is that both groups, in different senses, ultimately went back to serving them. God’s message to all people, everywhere is, “You will serve someone – or something; choose carefully, because your choice will radically shape both your life and your eternity!

*Go to LAUNCH SERMON PLAYER for PDF and YouTube Podcast